


No One Left Behind

by Lush_Specimen



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Mutual battlefield rescue, Rescue Missions, can be as shippy as you want!, early war, hotlock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-13 18:14:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28782543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lush_Specimen/pseuds/Lush_Specimen
Summary: In the chaos of retreating armies, Hot Rod rushes through a deserted battlefield to make sure no one gets left behind. He finds one strangler facing down an advance force of dire wraiths in desperate need of rescue.So the lone fighter is a Decepticon?So what?!This one shot is based on my amazing Secret Solenoid bonus gift fromrcxdirectrixfor the prompt of “Hotlock mutual battlefield rescue”!! (Art included!)
Relationships: Drift | Deadlock & Hot Rod, Drift | Deadlock/Hot Rod
Comments: 14
Kudos: 34





	No One Left Behind

**Author's Note:**

> I was so inspired by the art, Deadlock’s shocked expression, Hot Rod’s confident grin as he ignites his flames, that I had to write something!! 
> 
> Behold the awesome Secret Solenoid Bonus gift from [ rcxdirectrix ](https://rcxdirectrix.tumblr.com/):  
> 
> 
> I hope you like it!! And thanks again for the awesome gift!!

“COME ON, KID! MOVE YOUR AFT!!” Kup screamed as he ran past with a hastily packed gear bag slung over his shoulder. 

“Primus, Kup! Don’t blow a gasket! I’ll be right there!” Hot Rod yelled over the chaos whirling around them. 

Bots rushed frantically in every direction. Engines revved and the downdraft of overhead fliers whipped scattered debris into a maelstrom. Siren’s warning boomed over the comm system on an audial shattering loop: 

**ALL SQUADS EVACUATE! ABANDON YOUR POSTS AND REPORT TO THE RENDEZVOUS POINT! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!**

“WE KNOW! WE KNOW! Holy frag!” Hot Rod rolled his optics and grumbled, clamping his hands over his audials as he kicked his meager supplies into a pile. 

“Get it in gear, kid! We got orders to move out!” Kup growled, switching his cygar from one corner of his mouth to the other. “Turns out this planet ain’t so uninhabited after all. Why the frag did it have to be dire wraiths though? Those creeps give me the chills! They dig their tentacles under your plating and possess you from the inside! Once they get their claws deep into your circuitry, there’s no easy way to yank’em out!” 

“Spare me the gruesome ghost stories,” Hot Rod groaned. “I’m not scared.” 

“It’s all fun and games until you lose your free will.” Kup ominously chuckled. He flung the last of their gear into an evac crate and hopped onto the transport. “Come on. I’m not fighting some weird wraith zombie Hot Rod. The original version is bad enough.” 

“Ha. Ha. Very funny.” Hot Rod muttered. He tossed his minimal gear into the transport and hesitated. His optics darted between Kup and the charred battlefield behind them. 

“MOVE IT!! NOW!! We have to get out of here!” Kup extended his hand towards Hot Rod. “Our spies report that the Decepticons are retreating as well. First sensible thing Megatron’s done in a long fraggin’ time. As if the dire wraiths weren’t bad enough, wherever they go, the Knights of Rom follow. Nobody wants to deal with those bigoted self-righteous jerks! Believe you me! Did I ever tell you about the time-” 

“Tell me later, okay?” Hot Rod reluctantly backed away, out of Kup’s reach. 

“What are you doing, kid??” The fear raising Kup’s voice shot a cold jolt through Hot Rod’s spark. 

“What if someone is still out there? What if they didn’t hear the orders to evacuate?” 

“For frag’s sake!” Kup waved his arms. “SIREN did the announcement! That idiot doesn’t know the meaning of volume control. Everyone heard! Distant planets heard the orders. Hell, I’m pretty sure even the dead heard him from the great beyond!” 

“I have to be sure.” Hot Rod squared his shoulders. He vented deeply. The screams of the doomed populace of Nyon echoed in his head. He abandoned too many people to death in the past. He wouldn’t do it again. “I’m done with pointless loss. I’m not leaving anyone behind. Not this time.” 

“Fine.” Kup sighed, relenting much easier than Hot Rod had anticipated. 

Kup folded his arms and took a long drag on his cygar. The ember glowed bright orange contrasting the slate blue of his tired optics. He continued with quiet resignation. “The last jump ship leaves the planet’s surface in one hour. Be there. Because I don’t want to lose you either.” 

Hot Rod blinked, stunned into uncharacteristic silence by Kup’s genuine concern. Kup cared about him? So much that he didn’t want to lose him?? Tears burned his optics, threatening to stream hot down his cheeks. He expected Kup to argue with him not to cause him to have feelings. 

“Cause if you don’t show up on time...” Kup tilted his head back and vented a plume of smoke at the storm clouds darkening the sky. After a rare glimpse of raw emotion, his voice rumbled with gruff bluster. He locked optics with Hot Rod. “I’ll personally hunt you down myself and drag you off this miserable planet by your spoiler. Dire wraiths be damned! And I’ll let Springer film the whole thing and broadcast it to the entire universe!” 

“Not the spoiler! You wouldn’t dare!!” Hot Rod gasped, slipping comfortably into their familiar banter. 

“Frag around, find out!” Kup grinned in a way that made it clear that it wasn’t a threat, but a promise. 

“No thank you! I’ll be there. In one hour.” Hot Rod laughed. He flashed Kup a cheeky salute, transformed, and rushed into the battlefield, compelled by the ghosts of Nyon to undertake his own personal rescue mission. 

Kup shook his head and shouted some parting words that Hot Rod couldn’t make out over the roar of his own engines. 

Hot Rod raced through the trenches recently occupied by the Autobots. Eerie silence replaced the relentless cacophony of warfare. The watchful quiet pressed in on him from all sides. While he usually enjoyed sound of his screaming speedster engine, today it shrieked too loud and too harsh in his own audials. A shiver ran though his frame. 

“ANYONE OUT HERE!” He yelled, without slowing down. “EVAC ORDERS!! ALL UNITS ARE TO FALL BACK IMMEDIATELY!!” 

Silence. 

“ANYONE!! GEAR UP!! WE GOTTA GO!! NOW!!” 

Hot Rod banked hard, accelerating through a tight corner and splashing into a greasy puddle. Mud and coagulated energon streaked his brilliant metallic paint work. 

“Ugh. That’s gonna stain,” Hot Rod grumbled, mainly to distract himself from the sense of dread gradually mounting in his spark. 

Despite his desperate race, he found no one. Not even a single lonely corpse. 

Hot Rod heard whispered tales that Ratchet led clandestine forays into the trenches between battles to collect any lost, wounded or fallen soldiers. Besides the cold comfort brought by the certainty of a loved one’s fate, the grim reality of war meant the donated parts of the deceased could save another’s life. Hot Rod took the deserted trenches as proof to the truth of the rumors. 

No one left behind. Not even the dead. Fierce respect for the grumpy medic burned hot in his spark. 

Reaching the farthest point of Autobot occupied territory, Hot Rod skidded around a sharp curve. Not detecting any activity so far, he pressed onward at full throttle. Looping closer to the Decepticon trenches for his return trip, Hot Rod put the hammer down. He’d complete the circuit and be back at Kup’s side before the old-timer had a chance to properly miss him. 

A staccato burst of machine gun fire cracked like rolling thunder. 

Hot Rod skidded to a stop, transformed and instinctively crouched into a defensive position. Silence pressed in again. 

His optics darted over the battlefield. He watched and waited. Nothing. Maybe he was just hearing things? Perhaps his mind was playing tricks on him? 

Distant thunder heralded a rapidly approaching storm. Massive thunderheads loomed over Hot Rod like Sentinel’s Vamparc devices. Lightning dramatically flashed like the machines’ energon draining technology. Electricity crackled through air heavy with ozone. 

Ever since the possibility arose of abandoning some of their comrades to the dire wraiths, thoughts of Nyon assaulted Hot Rod’s conscience. He should have planned better. He should have gotten people out sooner. He never should have destroyed the city with so many still inside. Hot Rod tightened his grip fraying nerves. No one gets left behind this time. No matter what. 

Seconds dragged like eons. Not a single sound broke the taut silence. The inescapable gloom of the gathering storm threatened to crush him like a falling building in a burning city. 

“Get it together.” Hot Rod mumbled to himself. He vented deeply. Convincing himself that the gunshots were a figment of his traumatized imagination, he transformed and forged ahead at top speed. 

Metallic debris crunched under his speeding tires. More energon-laced mud streaked his frame. Dust and ashes caused by an intense incendiary barrage kicked up and choked his intakes. Hot Rod pressed on, utterly alone. This wasteland resembled the ruins of Nyon, at least in his mind. He often wondered what remained of his home, never quite gathering the courage to go back to find out. 

A longer burst of machine gun fire split the silence. 

This time, he definitely wasn’t hearing things. Angling towards the sound, he detected movement in up head, just past a mangled pile indigenous rock fused with broken limbs. Writhing organic forms surrounded a single Cybertronian signal on his scanners. 

Hot Rod’s engine revved with wild glee as he flew towards the fight. He found someone! Although rescuing one wayward soldier could hardly balance the scales he tipped heavily when he destroyed Nyon, it was a start. One by one, he’d save everyone he could, in hopes to one day balance lives saved against all the death he caused. 

Speeding around the corner, Hot Rod spotted a sleek white speedster with heavy pewter armor fending off a seething mass of dire wraiths. Absurdly outnumbered, he held his ground, making each shot count. Although he fought ferociously, dire wraiths possessed a unique resilience to conventional weaponry. As the speedster pivoted to drop a shrieking wraith with a single expertly aimed shot, the muzzle flash illuminated the purple badge on his chest. 

Hot Rod didn’t slow down for a second. 

So he was a Decepticon? So what?! He was in trouble and Hot Rod was going to save him! 

No one left behind!! 

Hot Rod gunned his engine and sped towards a cleft stone to use as a ramp. He launched himself through the air directly towards the fray. Flying over the raging dire wraiths, Hot Rod angled for the center of the fight. The Decepticon’s crimson optics widened. Hot Rod transformed in mid-air, twisting his frame in an acrobatic spin. The dire wraiths drew back as he ignited his inner fire. He landed perfectly on his feet and slid to a stop with his back to the Decepticon. 

“Who the frag are you?!” The Decepticon hollered over his shoulder, gripping his gun tightly. Despite his shock, he leaned back against Hot Rod, grateful to have one less flank to cover. 

“Your hero!” Hot Rod grinned. Raising his forearms with a flourish, Hot Rod blasted an attacking dire wraith with a raging inferno. “But you can call me Hot Rod!” 

“That’s a stupid name!” The Decepticon teased as he fired a few more shots. 

“Better than yours, I bet!” Hot Rod scoffed, unleashing another torrent of fire. 

“Please! Deadlock is an infinitely cooler name!” 

“Oh my god!! It THAT what you call yourself?! And you have the audacity to insult my name?!” Hot Rod laughed. Fighting for his life against a hoard of increasingly angry dire wraiths with an enemy soldier probably shouldn’t be this much fun. 

“Whatever!” Deadlock huffed. 

The dire wraiths attacked with renewed intensity now that they two Cybertronians in their sights. Hot Rod and Deadlock held them off, but they needed to escape before they both became wraith puppets. With each renewed attack, time was slipping away. 

“We gotta get out of here!” Hot Rod yelled over his shoulder to the solid presence guarding his back. 

“No kidding! What do think I was trying to do when you showed up? Having a fraggin’ picnic?!” 

Hot Rod laughed. He cast a quick glance over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of Deadlock’s fanged smirk. In the split second he took his optics off the fight, a dire wraith slipped under his defenses and dug its claws into his forearm. A sharp screech rent the air. 

“AHH!! GET IT OFF!! GET IT OFF!!” Hot Rod frantically stumbled backwards. Kup’s horror stories about frame possession ran through his mind. The dire wraith flashed a wicked grin. It licked its savage fangs with a disturbingly long tongue and sunk its claws deeper. 

Deadlock whirled around and pulled Hot Rod tight to his own frame, shielding him with his heavy armor. He kicked the dire wraith off Hot Rod with one swift blow. Swinging his firearm up, he shot the dire wraith right in the face. It staggered back and fell beneath the next attacker. 

“Th- Thanks,” Hot Rod stammered. Still in Deadlock’s protective embrace, he clutched his wounded arm tight to his chest and fresh energon oozed through his fingers. 

“Um- Don’t worry about.” Deadlock stared at him, optics wide. Like his own actions shocked him to the core. He quickly released Hot Rod and replaced the clip in his gun. “Be more careful next time.” 

Hot Rod nodded. He pivoted in place and unleashed another torrent of flames, ignoring the pain throbbing from his ragged wound. They couldn’t keep up this pace. Sooner or later, the wraiths would break through their defenses. And the clock was ticking on Kup coming to look for him. If Kup and Springer had to rescue him and a Decepticon from a pack of angry dire wraiths, he’d never hear the end of it. 

“I have an idea!” Hot Rod exclaimed as he and Deadlock spun around each other, fighting back-to-back like a pair of skilled dancers. An odd warmth raced through Hot Rod’s spark. He never experienced this type of perfect synchronized movements with anyone. Deadlock’s heavy armor and brutal firepower balanced his own blazing offense and rapid attacks. It was like he and Deadlock were two parts of a single fighter. 

“Hope it’s better than your last one! Leaping into the center of this fight was pretty stupid,” Deadlock grumbled. Despite his grousing, a fierce light shone in his crimson optics and a wry smile quirked his lips. Hot Rod wondered if Deadlock felt the strange resonance too. 

“You’re gonna love it!” Hot Rod grinned. He leapt over Deadlock spinning a cyclone of fire around them. Deadlock effortlessly ducked into a low sweep kick, knocking over a cluster of wraiths so they fell directly into Hot Rod’s inferno. 

“The anticipation is killing me.” Deadlock sarcastically droned. 

“Better the anticipation than the dire wraiths!” Hot Rod snickered, narrowly avoiding another slash of some wicked claws. Energon sprayed from the gashes on his arm as he spun out of reach, back into Deadlock’s defensive range. “So, here’s the deal...” 

Deadlock laid down a burst of gunfire, causing the wraiths to retreat momentarily. His finials perked up. 

“We need to get out of here before our respective armies leave and judging by the fact that the wraiths caught you in the first place, I’d say you're not fast enough to out run them.” 

“Hey!” Deadlock protested; his speedster pride wounded. “I’m plenty fast! The heavy armor mods slow me down a bit but at least the wraiths didn’t shred my arm to pieces, unlike SOME people.” 

“Exactly my point!” Hot Rod and Deadlock pirouetted around each other again in perfect harmony. Attack and defend. “My defenses aren’t strong enough to withstand their attacks and I can’t use my flames if I’m burning energon for pure speed. Obviously, we need to work together! I’ll transform and you can ride on my alt mode’s roof. You focus on the defensive firepower and leave the getaway driving to me!” 

“WHAT?! You want me to- to RIDE?! On your alt mode?!” Deadlock sputtered between emptying another clip on his machine guns. He stared incredulously at Hot Rod. 

“You got it! I knew you’d love it!!” Hot Rod grinned. “I’ll be fast! You be furious! On three!! READY!! One-Two-” 

“NO!! Wait!! I can’t-” 

“THREE!!” Hot Rod sent one final blaze around them as he spun his t-cog. The dire wraiths stumbled backwards, blinded by the brilliant flash of fire. Hot Rod transformed and revved his engine. His tires smoked as he held himself back, waiting for Deadlock to climb aboard. 

“I can’t believe I’m doing this!” Deadlock muttered. He vaulted up on to Hot Rod’s roof and crouched in a low defensive posture. The weight of his armor compressed Hot Rod’s light racing suspension. 

“AWW YEAH!! HERE WE GO!!” Hot Rod released his brakes as soon as he felt the sharp twinge of Deadlock’s claws dig into a roof seam. 

Holding on with one hand, Deadlock wielded his machine gun in the other and emptied his entire clip of ammunition. Hot Rod leapt forward in his flashy alt mode and the dire wraiths scattered. 

A few exceedingly determined wraiths gave chase. They growled and ran after them with shocking speed. The wraiths raced maniacally to catch them, swiping their deadly claws at Hot Rod’s exposed sides. He swerved. Deadlock shifted his weight in perfect synch with Hot Rod’s erratic driving, kicking the wraiths away whenever they got too close. 

In a last desperate attempt to capture their quarry, one large wraith leapt up and grabbed Hot Rod’s spoiler. 

Before Hot Rod could even yelp in surprise, Deadlock took aim and shot the wraith in one fluid motion. It fell off, hit the ground and tumbled to a halt in the dust, knocking down a few of their other pursuers. 

“Whew!! Thanks! I knew we’d make a great team!” Hot Rod pushed his throttle harder. He threw himself into a wild power slid around a sharp corner and felt Deadlock tighten his grip. Hot Rod’s engine purred with glee. 

“Whatever.” 

Thunder roared overhead. The first scattering of rain began to fall. Judging from the deepening darkness of the clouds, in a very short time the light rain will increase into a torrential downpour. Mud splashed up from Hot Rod’s racing tires. The dire wraiths grew smaller and smaller in his rear-view mirror. 

They drove together in a silence that teetered delicately between awkward and companionable. They fought so fiercely together to defeat a common enemy, but now what? Technically there were on opposite sides of the war… Hot Rod struggled to figure out the right thing to say. 

Shockingly, Deadlock was the first on to speak up. 

“I think this is my stop.” 

“Really?” Hot Rod jammed on his brakes and slid to a halt in the slick mud. 

“Yeah.” Deadlock hopped off his roof. Hot Rod felt suddenly exposed without the comforting weight of Deadlock’s heavy armor. “We- uh- we're supposed to meet back out our transport ship right over that ridge.” He pointed to a nearby rock formation. 

“Oh! Um- okay-” Hot Rod transformed and stood up. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his helm. After the intense exertion, energon flowed freely from the gashes in his torn armor. He winced and gingerly tucked his arm close to his frame in a futile attempt to shelter his wounds from the rain. “I guess this is goodbye? Thanks for saving me back there!” 

“I suppose... I should be thanking you. I might not have made it without your help,” Deadlock murmured, staring at the ground. He shuffled his feet and finally met Hot Rod’s optics. “What were you doing out there anyways? Both armies gave the order to retreat.” 

“Looking for you!” Hot Rod flashed a cheeky grin. 

Deadlock’s crimson optics flared. 

“Well, maybe not YOU specifically, but anyone that might still be out there. I didn’t want anyone to get left behind.” 

“Even your enemy?” Deadlock narrowed his optics and canted his finials back, eyeing Hot Rod with suspicion. 

“Sure. Why not?” Hot Rod shrugged with casual friendliness. “’Enemy’ is only a temporary designation not our entire identity. One day the war will be over, and we won’t be enemies anymore.” 

Deadlock stared at Hot Rod like he just told him that time works backwards and nothing makes sense. His finials canted all the way back. He seemed to be fighting some type of internal battle. 

Hot Rod wanted to say something. To somehow describe the kinship he felt as they fought to protect each other from the dire wraiths. To ask if Deadlock felt it too. But, like always, he couldn’t put the words in the right order. Kicking a rock in frustration, he ruefully wished that he was more eloquent. 

A rolling crack of thunder practically shook the ground and violet lightning streaked the sky. The rain steadily increased, pattering off their battered armor. 

Without warning, Deadlock reached out and grabbed Hot Rod’s injured arm. Hot Rod flinched but Deadlock held fast, preventing the speedster from wriggling away. 

“HEY! OW!!” Hot Rod tugged against Deadlock’s iron grasp. 

“Hold still,” Deadlock mumbled. He produced an emergency field patch kit. 

Hot Rod froze, biting down on the pain as Deadlock quickly cleaned the ragged tears of the wound to adhere a temporary patch. Although the driving rain mingling with the oozing energon made it extremely difficult, Deadlock stubbornly refused to give up. He shifted their positions, using his larger frame to shield them from the weather. Hot Rod watched in awe as Deadlock’s nimble fingers deftly sealed the edges of the patch. Completely mesmerized by the unexpected act of kindness, heat raced through his circuits. 

Gingerly manipulating Hot Rod’s arm from side to side, Deadlock inspected his handiwork. He firmly pressed down on the edges of the patch once more to ensure a proper seal. Hot Rod shivered as the gentle pressure helped dull the pain. Satisfied, Deadlock released Hot Rod with a curt nod. 

“That should keep mud out of that nasty cut until you get back to your ship. Better see a medic right away though. These conditions are perfect for causing rust infections.” 

“I will! Thank you!” Hot Rod stared at the patch. He raised his optics to meet Deadlock’s, a smile slowly spreading across his face. 

"Whatever.” Deadlock shrugged as he transformed and revved his engine. Hot Rod tried to ignore how pleasantly the deep rumble resonated through his frame. “Try to not get yourself killed before the war ends. It might be interesting to not be ‘enemies’ sometime.” 

Hot Rod’s jaw dropped as Deadlock sped away. 

“Hell yeah!! I’m looking forward to it!!” Hot Rod snapped out of his surprise and yelled after Deadlock through the torrential rain. He waved enthusiastically until the distant darkness swallowed Deadlock’s taillights. 

When Deadlock vanished into the storm, Hot Rod paused to run his fingers lightly across his temporary patch. He hugged his bandaged arm tightly to his chest as if he could hold on to some part of Deadlock. 

Hot Rod turned to hurry back to the jump ship before Kup made good on his promise to drag him back by his spoiler. The cold rain washed away the streaks of mud and energon staining his paintwork. Warmth raced through his spark, brighter than his own fire. When he left to run through the deserted battlefield, he hoped to find a few lost soldiers. He never expected to find a friend.

**Author's Note:**

>  _"I’ll be fast! You be furious!"_ I apologize for nothing!!
> 
> As always, thank you for reading!
> 
> I appreciate your kudos and love reading your comments!!
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at:[lush-specimen.tumblr.com](lush-specimen.tumblr.com)


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